Monday, March 16, 2009

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

From Saint and Thought For Every Day, 
by Blessed James Alberione 
St. Patrick
Bishop

     St. Patrick, apostle and patron of Ireland, was born around 385.  He was sent to Ireland as a missionary by Pope St. Celestine.  Notwithstanding many difficulties and hardships, he managed to convert most of the inhabitants of that country.  St. Patrick died around 461.
     Let us usk St. Patrick to obtain for us a deeper understanding and love of our faith.

The Redemption

Redemption is the remaking of man in the order of nature and of grace, according to God's original design.  This was the work of the Son of God, the divine Architect:  "Through whom all things were made."  Redemption of the will means once again enthroning it as man's queen.  God is good, but He created man free, as He created the angels free.  To those who consider things superficially, it would seem that everything went wrong for the divine Maker when He risked creating free beings; but the wisdom, power and love of God give very different explanations!

From A Year With Blessed James Alberione, 
Compiled by J. Maurus

Be studious

     Studiousness is the virtue that regulates our inclination for knowledge as well as our natural curiosity.
     On the one hand it helps us to know what is necessary for life and for eternal happiness, and on the other hand it tempers and moderates the instinct of curiosity, so that we may always remain on the right path and sanctify our minds.
     Thus studiousness is a virtue related both to temperance and to fortitude.
     To study it is necessary that one puts in efforts; one has to control one's mind so that it may not indulge in bad thoughts, to chase away undesirable thoughts and substitute them with good thoughts.

What Strikes Me Most Today

What strikes me most today is the advice to chase away undesirable thoughts by substituting them with good thoughts. The video above is a beautiful song called, "St. Patrick's Breastplate."  This week I'll try to recall images from this video when I am in need of good thoughts to replace bad ones that I need to chase away.
 
St. Patrick, Pray for us!

What strikes you most today?  Click on "COMMENTS" below to share your thoughts.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 17, 2009 at 9:02 AM

    What strikes me most is the line "Redemption is the remaking of man in the order of nature and of grace, according to God's original design." It proves to me that no matter how I mess up or how many times I fall off God's path, all is not lost. I mess up, I fix it and get back on my way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 17, 2009 at 12:25 PM

    You say to substitute undesirable thoughts for good ones. I sure wish I knew how to do that better because there are times when my thoughts are filled with the undesirable ones and it seems I can't do anything to control them. They aren't anything horrible but stuff I know I'd have to confess if I acted on them

    --Mark

    ReplyDelete
  3. jeffmathewsMarch 17, 2009 at 4:43 PM

    I know EXACTLY what you mean! Since the "undesirable" thoughts keep coming back, and are often difficult to control, I used to pray they would just "go away" and not recur, but I guess that would interfere with free will. I often think of St. Paul, complaining of the "thorn in the flesh" that he prayed would be taken away from him. But God said no. Perhaps it was for St. Paul's sanctity; perhaps it was for our benefit, to know that there is a great Saint like St. Paul we can relate to. I don't know details of exactly what St. Paul's thorn was, but God did not remove it from him during his lifetime, and St. Paul never gave up fighting against it. I imagine we all have some type of "thorn in the flesh," and every time we fight it, regardless of how successful we are, we are giving a great gift of our free will to God, desiring the good over the bad.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 18, 2009 at 11:48 AM

    Wow, we are on the same page for sure. Your last line are words to live by. Thanks

    --Mark

    ReplyDelete

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"Fear not, I am with you. From here I want to enlighten. Atone for sin."

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Why?

Why a blog? Why St. Paul? Why do I think I have any business doing this?
We are all on a spiritual journey. We all want that journey to lead us to heaven, to eternity with God. For this journey, we need one another.
The journey so far has led me to read and learn about so many forms of authentic Catholic spirituality - Ignatian, Benedictine, Carmelite, Dominican, Franciscan, etc. My biggest problem was that I came to love each one tremendously. I began reading more and more, spending more and more time at the Daughters of St. Paul bookstore on Watson Road here in St. Louis. Who would have thought my greatest conversion story would take place in a bookstore? Mine was not quite as sudden or dramatic as St. Paul on the road to Damascus, but getting to know the Daughters of St. Paul affected me no less significantly.
The sisters are Eucharistic by nature. The first time I entered the chapel in their bookstore, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed and one of the sisters was on her knees, gazing at Christ, with an indescribably beautiful smile on her face. I had a glimpse of heaven. I knelt at one of the other kneelers and noticed on the wall behind the monstrance the words: "Fear not, I am with you. From here I want to enlighten. Atone for sin." I had that brief moment of absolute certainty that I was on the right path.
Over the last several years I have worked my way through as many books, CD's, DVD's and conversations with the Daughters of St. Paul that time has allowed. Time is at such a premium for all of us. Years ago we were told that with advances in technology we would have much more free time on our hands. We all know this has not been the case. Our lives are busier and more hectic than ever. Even if we are unable to find time to read good books, see enlightening movies or attend lectures and discussions, maybe we could all spend a little time on the internet supporting one another on our faith journeys. Many of you know more about many aspects of Catholic spirituality than I do.
Pope John Paul the Great called us all to a New Evangelization, to share the Gospel with the world. I am hoping we can all be St. Paul in this blog space by sharing Christ with one another and with others. St. Paul travelled to many foreign and often hostile regions to evangelize the world; we are fortunate to be able to use the internet to reach even farther and more quickly.
The idea of using today's means of social communication to spread the Gospel was given to Blessed James Alberione on the night between the centuries (December 31, 1900 - January 1, 1901). He was a 16 year-old seminary student adoring Christ in the Blessed Sacrament when a special light came to him from the Host. Following this, Blessed James Alberione became the founder of the Society of St. Paul priests, the Daughters of St. Paul, the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, Sisters of the Queen of Apostles, and numerous institutes that are also part of the Pauline family.
So what is Pauline spirituality? In my experience, Pauline spirituality encompasses all the teachings of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and love of all the other spiritualities and Saints of the Church. It is the members of the Pauline family who are the happiest people I know! It is loving God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit with all our hearts and souls, through the intercession of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, and St. Paul.
So why St. Paul? I can relate to St. Paul. We first meet him in the New Testament as a sinner. He has a thorn in his side that God decides is best not to take away. I sometimes wish I knew what that thorn was, but it's probably better I don't know. I like to pretend it is one of my many weaknesses or faults. If St. Paul could go from persecuting Christ and His Church to becoming the person responsible for spreading the Gospel and establishing the Church in foreign lands, the least I can do is start a blog. I have been especially inspired by my two favorite bloggers, Sr. Margaret Charles Kerry, fsp, and a Pauline Cooperator named Rae Stabosz. I believe Sr. Margaret and Rae are doing just what St. Paul and Blessed James Alberione would be doing with the internet.
In future blogs (which will be shorter than this first post!), I would like to share writings of St. Paul, Blessed James Alberione, and many others. I look forward to others sharing writings from other Catholic spiritualities and writers. An especially Pauline way of sharing is to point out to one another what aspects particularly speak to each of us.
Another Pauline trait is to pray for one another. My prayer is that we support one another on our path to holiness. Our goal is to glorify God in all that we do - so let's do it!